Late Winter in Feb/March

In one month's time were were lucky to have two visits from great friends of ours.  The first was in mid-February when Luke and his lovely girlfriend Victoria came our way.  They traveled from London to spend a weekend with us during Carnaval.  The town was crazy with its parties and all day binge drinking of cheap beer.  Everything shuts down (except bars) at this time.  So we had a great time hanging out with them!

Dancing to the oompa loompa type music at a local pub.

The glorious band

The kids loved seeing Luke and meeting Victoria.  We spent a nice sunny day walking into town for lunch.

Sylvie playing peek-a-boo

Our second visit was from our friend John from Seattle.  He was in Amsterdam for a conference and we went up to spend a day with him in the city.  It was a beautiful day with sun and warm enough weather.  We had a great time going to some kid-friendly cafes and chatting.

Our good friend John! We can't wait to see more of him, his wife Katie, and the super cute son Jack.

And since we are moving and the kids are growing, I have made several trips to IKEA for various things.  And this time the kids were with me.  IKEA is genious since it has 1 euro soft serve ice cream cones at check out.  So we had to have some.

Our little girl Sylvie and her "bay-wa" or roughly translated "bear-a"

I tried to get them to show me their hugs

Archie and his best friend "Reginald" the rock.  Seriously.  He came up with the name on his own.  Not even sure where he heard the name from!  We keep him in a special drawer so he doesn't get lost with other rocks.  Reginald is of course colored on because he is special.

Archie at the school music preformance where they sang "Eye of the Tiger", the great 80's hit.  He and Sylvie have been singing the lyrics for weeks until I realized what they were singing.  The preformance was super cute even though he was nervous having his mom and dad watching.  Sylvie just hid in the corner.

Out for lunch with Mom at a local place that has a little play store/kitchen

So big in a big chair!

I picked up a reindeer costume at Christmas and the kids found it to try on.  They loved it of course!

Posing for mom

Posing again!

And we are back to hugging again.  They start of hugging and then end up rolling around the floor giggleing and wrestling.  

A this point, things are wrapping up here in Breda.  We will be heading back to Seattle soon.  I am trying to enjoy all this fun with the kids in the craziness of getting ready to go.  I am hoping we all settle into our new routine and way of life with ease. 

This might be the last trip we had in our bike trailer.  It will be sold soon before we head back to the US.  I have LOVED using it with the kids although it is a lot of work peddling them around even in a flat country!

I can't seem to get one picture where they are both just smiling!  Some one isn't looking or the other has a finger up the nose!  Oh well, at least I have a photo that makes me smile.

Photos from February

Time is going quickly as we prepare to go back to the US.  The kids are just busy with normal life and don't have any idea of the busy times and big changes ahead.  We won't tell them until April around the time the packers come to pack up our life in a shipping container.

Checking out the weather for the day.  The mornings are getting lighter and we are enjoying more daylight and chances to get outside in the afternoons.

They are changing so much!  Sylvie looks more different every month.  She is turning into a little kid and not so much a toddler.  

We spent a day in Brugge, our last trip there.  It was a nice cold sunny day, perfect for exploring.  We had a really nice time wandering around and seeing parts we had missed before.

And we stopped in to McDonalds for coffee and a toilet break.  They are good for that.  We were SHOCKED at the place.  By far the COOLEST in the world.  It is in a 16th century old building that is completely preserved on the inside.  The structure is exposed and old fireplaces part of the dining area (which is all quite modern).  The kids had a great time standing in the fireplaces and exploring the 4 story building.

Striking a pose

At our local Kinderboederij (farm for kids).  It has been a great place to visit while living here and we hope to get there a couple more times before we leave.  The kids love it.

Archie just loves the tractors

Chatting with the cows

Archie made special snacks at school and wanted to eat them at home.  The chocolate had hardened around the cheerios so he was trying to bite them out.  Sylvie is passed out on the couch beyond!

And it is Carnaval time here again.  The south of Holland goes crazy and the schools have a party before the winter break.  Sylvie was happy to dress up as a ballerina.  Archie is still not into dressing outside the house.  So he wore a hat.  Because I was there to help, Archie wouldn't leave my side.  Sylvie, on the other hand, joined into the singing and dancing.  She loved it.  She is in the front row.

Dancing to the "Let it Go" song in Frozen.

More dancing.

Photos from January

With the start of the new year brought Sylvie to the Nursery Class at the International School.  It was a great way to head back to school.  Sylvie had a tough time when Archie left the daycare to go to Nursery in September.  She was a little lost without him for while.  Plus the daycare moved to a dutch daycare center with lots of other kids.  So she was a bit overwhelmed.

Now she is super happy and loving her class.  She LOVES her teachers Ms. Kerri and Ms. Marianthi.

First day....Elise wanted to be in the photo too.

After the photo, they joined hands to go and play without me.  Didn't even look back to say goodbye.  It was a great start.

I usually pick the kids up right before lunch to go home.  They only spend the mornings there.  Some days we stay for lunch with the class.  It is a special treat and the kids love it.

And this is our favorite Ms. Kerri when we were at a party at MonkeyTown (appropriately named).

We had a lot of snow in January.  The kids had a great time being outside and enjoying it.  The love putting on their boots to go out.  

And we have been getting outside more to try and get fresh air.  The afternoons can get a bit crazy if we do not get out.

Right outside our door  and ready for a walk.  

We went for a walk and there was a cat in the neighbor's window.  He was pawing the glass as the kids were talking to him, saying, "hi cat.  How are you cat?  Want to play cat?"

And then the weather picked up for a couple days and we had some sun and warmth. So we headed to a playground to have some fun.

Watching Wallace and Grommit.  They love their shows and Archie giggles so loudly.  

After a big day out

Lining up our toys to watch us dance

And Sylvie received an achievement award at school for her first week at school.  She  adjusted well and so for the week, she received the award for her class.  And she stood up in front of the entire school to shake Ms. Kerri's hand and receive her award.  I was so impressed and proud of her for being so confident.